Skill Set I Wish I Had- Knapping, Skill Set I’d Rather Not Have- Genocide .2

Stone tools shed light on early human migrations

Hominins with different tool-making technologies coexisted.

Matt Kaplan in Nature

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/15/155009945/famous-cave-paintings-might-not-be-from-humans?sc=fb&cc=fp

I’m intrigued by the evolving evidence that homonids- I note they are now homonins- of various evolutionary branches coexisted. Or probably, more accurately shared the same geography, competed for resources and killed each other in the same manner that wolves kill coyotes. I’m sure that the boogie man is a Neanderthal and that a big problem we have with racism arises from genetic memories of these times. So next we have to acknowledge that if someone looks “other” there is reason for concern as other and invader are synonymous. In an earlier post I make reference to just such a wanton massacre witnessed by Samuel Hearne, which makes no sense in most of the world today- but is sensible in a world where starvation occurs yearly and death is a force that must be appeased. Or we can look to the Inuit idea that it might be a good idea to breed with an other as the gene pool could use some spicing up. Remember weapons are dandy- but evidently language skills trumped physical prowess. Physically Neanderthals were the NFL Pro-Bowlers of Hominids and Cro-Magnons were really talented amateurs. And if history teaches us anything it is that when two cultures with disparate technologies meet the one with advanced culture will almost always prevail- and let’s face it we weaponize all of our technologies.

Don’t know whether or not I can Flint Knapp because I’ve never attempted it…

Australian Aborigine Hair Tells a Story of Human Migration – OHO so these are the purest humans?

I do suspect that in previous lives I spent a lot of time doing this. I think I may have been admired for my knapping skill. I also suspect that this was essentially a time killer before TV, smoking and surfing the web… There are midden piles of flint shards that fill canyons. I also know that an adept mechanic could knock out a point in minutes- otherwise you wouldn’t find them discarded and lost all over the place. That would be you, I find all sorts of stuff, I find owl castings in tall grass and contact lenses on athletic fields. But I don’t find arrow heads. Standing in the middle of a field in PA I mentioned this to the guy I was bird hunting with and he reached down, picked up an arrow head and said “Like This?”

Do know that Flint and Obsidian blades are many more time sharper than Shorty’s Straight Razor.

Do know that John Lord [click for video] is the man.

Adder @ 9/08

Meet Au. Sediba: The Best Candidate for an Ancestor to the Homo Species – The Atlantic

 

Adder @ 6/17

 

Famous Cave Paintings Might Not Be From Humans

If You Like This Please Comment & Subscribe Below

Related articles

• Why Humans Prevailed Over Neanderthals (news.discovery.com)
• Surprise Human-Ancestor Find – Key Fossils Hidden in Lab Rock (news.nationalgeographic.com)
• Ancient Tartar, Other Dental Clues Reveal Unexpected Diet of Early Human Relative (blogs.scientificamerican.com)
• A (near) human tragedy, and a visit to the dentist; a new hominin find, and what it signifies (paulbraterman.wordpress.com)

and now the knapping technology moves further back in time

But in reply to “If I Had a Hammer”- I’d like to knap flint